SHADAC Staff

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Developing an Evaluation Framework for the Affordable Care Act

As part of SHADAC’s technical assistance to support the State Health Reform Assistance Network (State Network), we hosted a gathering of several states on April 30 and May 1 in Minneapolis, MN.  The meeting, titled, "Developing an Evaluation Framework for the Affordable Care Act," was designed to discuss what states are doing to evaluate the impact of federal reform and how to translate those tools across states.

Regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision to be announced this month, states face a number of challenges to monitor and evaluate the impact of reform.  There is no "silver bullet" data source to manage this evaluation, and every state faces unique environments.  As such, states need to develop a framework that utilizes available data and resources to monitor their specific needs.  This may seem a daunting task but there are lessons to be shared among states.

In developing a framework, the key things to consider are:  defining the scope, identifying what specific measures to include, and then what levels of measurement.  

• Julie Sonier, SHADAC Deputy Director, discussed how and why to create a framework.
• Elizabeth Lukanen, SHADAC Senior Research Fellow, discussed how to operationalize the measures.
• Lynn Blewett, SHADAC Director, discussed the data collection and reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act.
• Chris Trenholm, Senior Fellow at Mathematica, discussed measures to monitor enrollment and retention.

These presentations and related resources are available here. 
 

Improving Geriatric Transitional Care through Interprofessional Care Teams

Objectives  The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the use of an inter-professional care team on patient length of stay and payer charges in a geriatric transitional care unit.

Methods  An analysis of de-identified administrative records for transitional care patients for the 12-month period (2003–2004) cared for by the inter-professional team (n = 163) and cared for by traditional single provider care model (n = 176) was carried out. We conducted logistic regression on length of stay and charges controlling for patient demographics and acuity levels.

Results  The inter-professional care team patients had significantly shorter lengths of stay, fewer patient days and lower total charges. Patient diagnosis and acuity were similar across groups.

Conclusion  This study provides empirical evidence of the impact of an inter-professional care model in providing cost-effective transitional care in a nursing home setting. Evidence of shorter lengths of stay, shorter patient days and lower charges suggests benefit in the development and financing of inter-professional care teams for transitional care services.

Maintaining Their Mission in Difficult Times: Key Strategies of Safety Net Hospitals

Presentation by Sharon Long, "Maintaining Their Mission in Difficult Times:  Key Strategies of Safety Net Hospitals," at the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, June 13, 2011 in Seattle, WA.

Download a PDF version of these slides.

SHAP Evaluations – Looking Toward The Affordable Care Act

Presentation by Elizabeth Lukanen at the State Health Access Program (SHAP) All Grantee Meeting in Arlington, VA, July 26 2010.

Federal Health Reform: Short-Term Implications

Presentation by Julie Sonier to three committees of the Minnesota House of Representatives in Saint Paul, MN, April 6 2010.

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